nacho bowls

- 6 x 20cm wholemeal flour tortillas
- extra virgin olive oil, for brushing
- ¾ cup (90g) grated cheddar
- 1 avocado, peeled and chopped
nacho filling
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
- ½ cup (80g) finely grated zucchini (courgette) (about 1 zucchini)
- 1 cup (140g) grated pumpkin or carrot
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin (a very nice spice)
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander (this one too!)
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 x 400g can chopped tomatoes
- ¾ cup (180ml) tomato puree (passata)
- 1 x 400g can black beans or red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
- 1–2 teaspoons maple syrup
- sea salt and cracked black pepper, to taste
- Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F).
- Arrange 4 tall ramekins or ovenproof mugs upside-down on a baking tray. Using a pastry brush, brush 4 of the tortillas with oil and place them, oil-side down, over the ramekins. Set aside.
- Line a baking tray with non-stick baking paper. Brush the remaining 2 tortillas with oil and place them flat, with the oil-side up, on the prepared tray.
- Bake all of the tortillas for 8 minutes or until they’re nice and brown. Wearing oven gloves, carefully remove the trays from the oven and allow to cool (the tortillas will turn crispy as they cool).
- To make the nacho filling, place the oil in a large non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Add the onion, zucchini and pumpkin and cook, stirring with a wooden spoon, for 8 minutes or until the onion is brown and super soft.
- Add the cumin, coriander and paprika and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes (you’ll begin to smell the fragrant spices in the air).
- Add the tomatoes, puree and beans and cook, stirring, for another 5–6 minutes or until thick. Add the maple, salt and pepper and stir to combine.
- Take the tortillas from the ramekins and flip them over to make nacho bowls. Spoon the nacho filling into the bowls and top with the cheese and avocado (plus a squeeze of lime, if you like). Break pieces of your bowl and scoop up the filling. Slice or break the flat tortillas into extra crispy dipping chips. Serves 4
Photography: Chris Court
Suzie Heaton
Forgot that I was making this for adults who would have liked some heat/chilli of some kind. Looking forward to making it again with chilli and coriander, which I had run out of.